Electbosteam



' Oct. 30, 1923.-

. F. M. DAVIS w ELEcTRosTEAM RADIATOR Filed April 1'7 Patented Oct. 30, 1923.

UNITED s'rA'rEs PATENT oFF'lc.

FEED M. DAVIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

y ELECTBOSTEAM RADIATOR.

Application fiiea spin 17,

Y '0 all w/lzo'm.y it may Gomera:

Be it known that I, Fnnn M. DAvIs, a citi izen of'the United States of America, and a tion.

rcsident of Chicago, county of'Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electrostea'm Radiators,'of which the following is a specifica-` ings, in which- Figure 1 is mainly a side view of a steam radiator with part of the lower portion broken awayv to show the. interior.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary Vertical section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

`ltigunas 3 and Ai show another embodiment of the inve11tion.

In the construction shown in4 the drawings, the radiator '1 is similar in general external appearance to ordinary steam radiators, and is connected 'toa steam pipe 2 through a hand valve 3, as usual in steam heating systems, it being 'understood that the pipe 2 leads downward to a steamboiler (not shown). An air vent valve Li is provided on the upper part of the radiator in the usual manner.

In order to provide for quick generation of steam independently of the source 2, an electric heater 5 is mounted in the lower part of the radiation, which is formed with a chamber 6 adapted to serve asa reservoir to hold a limited amount of water, wherein the unit 5 is immersed` In order to assure a Constant supply of water in the Chamber 6, the steam inlet and return pipe 7 is positioned slightly above the horizontally disposed heater unit 5, as indicated by the water level shown in the drawing. An independent water inlet pipe 8 is provided for said Chamber, which inlet is controlled by an automatic valve 9 actuated by the fioat 10.

In order to prevent possible overheating of the unit 5 in case of failure of the water supply, or if it is desired to limit the temperature of the radiator as a whole when electrically heated, a thermostat 11 is mount- 1822. sensi in). 558,808.

ed on the exterior of the wall of said chamber. A manual switch 12 is'also provided for throwing the electric heater in and out of service, said switch being connected by wiring 13 in series with the thermostatv 11 and the heater unit 5. i

In order that the unit 5 may he protected from injury by the water; the heater element 14: is enclosed in a thin tubular casing 15 of good heat conducting material, suitable insulation for the resistance Wire being provided as understood in the art. One end of the unit as a whole is set in a threaded plug 16, fitting in the threaded aperture 17 at one end of said Chamber.` Said plug is removable for access to the interior of the chamber `or for interchanging heater units as will be understood. In order that the action of the electric unit 5 may bc quiclrly responsive for generating steam, the Chamber 6 is formed to provide a thin wall of water about w i the unit 5, for which purpose the lower part of the cha-mber 6 may be comparatively narrow as shown in Figure 2, oi' the parts may be otherwise mutually formed to provide'a small volume ofV water capable of quick heating and Conversion into steam. w

The operation of thedevice is as follows :V rI`he radiator is normally operated by steam from the pipe 2, subject to control by the, valve 3. In case of f'ailure or insuficient; supply of steam from pipe'2, the switch 12 may be closed whereupon steam will be quicltly 'generated in the Chamber. In case the electric generator is operated for a considerable period of time resulting in gradual loss of the water in said chamber by escape either through the valve 4 or through valve 3, the float valve 9 responds to replenish thesupply so as to maintain the water level somewhat above the unit 5. A water gage 18 is also provided.

Beferring to the construction'shown in Figures 3 and 4 the radiator frame 19 is provided with a narrow longitudinal reservoir 20 in the lower part. In this reservoir is mounted a, longitudinally dispose'd tubular heating unit 21 supported substantially as shown in Figure 1 but ,with its inner end inclined upwa-rdly somewhat so as to expose its upper surface to a oonsiderable extent above the surface of the water. Said unit 21 is provided with a tubular sleeve 22 of wiek-like Character adapted to gradually feed a thin film of water over the exposed part of the heater wherebiy flash steam may be generated instantly. In this insta-nce 'the tloat valve may be substantially similar to that shown in Figure l but the float 28 is disposed opposite the end of unit 21 which V is somewhat shorter than shown in Figure 1 to accommodate said float. The floa-t 23 is in the form of a. hollow ball connected to the' free end of thelever arm 24 as will be understood.

,some of the more obvious advantages and uses of this combination form of radiator are that in the case of apartment huildings where the hoiler supply of steam is limited to certain cold periods of the year, the electric heater in ay be used to take the chill from the' room when the weather'is dainp or chilly at any time during the year. Moreover, in many buildings it is customary to turn off the main supply of steam and bank the boiiers early in the evening, as a result of which the house gets too cold to be comfortable late in. the evening, whereupon with this device a room may be lrept comfortable as long as' may be desired or even all night` as, for instance in case of siclrness. Furthermore, it greatly facilitates comfort in the early morning in case one' is oblia'ed to rise before the customary hour of turning' on the steam or firing' the boilers.

lt is apparent that this mode of suppleinentary heating` is advantageous over ordinary gas heaters and such devices for the' reason that it avoids throwing ofii noxious nases, but is nevertheless substantially instantaneous in operation.y and is effective for heating purposes about as quickly as a gas heater or the regular source of steam.

Althoufzh but two sliohtly variant specificemhodime'nts of the main features of this invention are herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the constructions shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following cla-ims.

I claim:

1. A steam radiator adapted for household use constructed and adapted to serve as a. heating outlet for a separate common steam generator and also as a self contained' saidchamber, and means to supply current w thercto. said chamber having" an overfiow escape for surplus water and said heater bein;I disposed below the level of said escape,

A steam radiator formed and adapted for use in connection with an external source of steam.l substantially as usual for steam radiators, said radiator havinfr a water reservoir and an electric heater adapted and arranzed to supply steam in case of failure of the regular external source said reservoir having walls formed to provide a thin layer of water surrounoing said heater adapted for 'Hash generation of steam.

4-. A radiator having' connections to receive steam from an external source and havingr a water reservoir therein provided with an electric flash steam lgenerator and means to maintain a Constant level of water in said reservoir.

Signed at Chicago this 15th day of April,

FEED M. DAVIS. 

